#119: Can Racism Be Stopped in the Third Grade?

Hi there, and welcome to The Highlighter #119! A big welcome to all the new subscribers. Our community is growing and getting stronger! The lead article this week outlines a program at a private elementary school in New York that helps third graders talk about race before it’s too late. One example of too-late is described in the second article, which centers on the journey of a white supremacist. After the photo break, read pieces about choosing your perfect baby and about listening really fast. Enjoy!

New Subscriber Contest Update: Last issue, I announced this month’s campaign to encourage 100 smart, caring, and curious people to join The Highlighter. The first week of the contest was a huge success: 37 people subscribed! Thank you to everyone who got the word out. The competition was fierce! Our first week’s winner is, drumroll, Abby P, who was responsible for 8 sign-ups. Great work, Abby P! Who is going to win this week? Even if you don’t identify as competitive, this contest is for you, particularly after you see the zany prizes you’ll receive for participating. Please tell your friends and family to check out the newsletter and subscribe here.

At Ethical Culture Fieldston School, a private school in the Bronx, third graders participate in a mandatory program designed to eradicate racism. Once a week, instead of engaging with issues of race as a whole class, students join affinity groups, where they discuss what it feels like to be a member of that race. Then they come back to the whole class to share out their perspectives. While this practice is fairly common among anti-racist educators, it is new for elementary school students, and some white liberal parents at the school would prefer that affinity groups go away. ⏳⏳

I can’t seem to stop reading articles about regular white men who turn into white supremacists (#115) or white supremacists who disavow their views (#117). This profile of Andrew Anglin — founder of the Daily Stormer, a Nazi website — is not like those other pieces. This man is reprehensibly vile. Like most Alt-right trolls, Mr. Anglin combines psychopathy, sadism, narcissism, and Machiavellianism. But he adds to that racism, homophobia, anti-Semitism, and misogyny. Mr. Anglin’s story is deeply disturbing, and though it might feel better to skip this article, I recommend reading it, trigger warnings and all. ⏳⏳⏳

Suppose you and your partner were pursuing in vitro fertilization and could tell which embryo had the highest likelihood of becoming the tallest, smartest, or healthiest person? Would you want to know? To choose? Though most of us say no, the technology is coming, and scientists at Genomic Prediction say that people’s views will change once offered the option of building a super baby. ⏳

In addition to my reading habit, I enjoy a good podcast or 25. Do you? Ever since Serial launched in 2014, I’ve listened to podcasts while running or driving or getting ready for the day. But by no means am I a “podfaster.” These obsessive people feel the need to listen to hundreds of hours of podcasts a week, completing episodes in order, often at rapid clips. Why listen to a recording at 1x when you can listen at 10x? ⏳

This Week’s Podcast: It was a wonderful pleasure to have my friend and loyal subscriber Sonya Wang on the show. Sonya talked about choosing the right school for her daughter, loving college football, and feeling anxious about buying a home in the Bay Area. We also chatted about “It’s Real Down Here,” last week’s article about living in the Deep South. Please listen and subscribe!